Reader's Shelf from Library Journal

The Reader's Shelf From Library Journal Pleasures of the Literary Garden

Green Thoughts: A Writer in the Garden By Perenyi, Eleanor Editor Pollan, Michael Introduction by Lacy, Allen 2002-02 - Modern Library 9780375759451 Check Our Catalog A classic in the literature of the garden, "Green Thoughts is a beautifully written and highly original collection of seventy-two essays, alphabetically arranged, on topics ranging from "Annuals" and "Artichokes" to "Weeds" and "Wildflowers." An amateur gardener for over thirty years, Eleanor Perenyi draws upon her wide-ranging knowledge of gardening lore to create a delightful, witty blend of how-to advice, informed opinion, historical insight, and philosophical musing. There are entries in praise of earthworms and in protest of rock gardens, a treatise on the sexual politics of tending plants, and a paean to the salubrious effect of gardening (see "Longevity"). Twenty years after its initial publication, "Green Thoughts remains as much a joy to read as ever. This Modern Library edition is published with a new Introduction by Allen Lacy, former gardening columnist for "The Wall Street Journal and "The New York Times and the author of numerous gardening books. …More

Onward and Upward in the Garden By White, Katharine S. Author White, Katharine Sergeant Angell Author White, Katherine S. 2002-04 - Beacon Press 9780807085615 Check Our Catalog White, who began working at "The New Yorker" in 1925, published a series of 14 gardening pieces in 1958 when her job was coming to a close. It wasn't until after her death that her husband, E.B. White, assembled this collection. "More than a book about flowers, it is itself a bouquet, the final blooming of an extraordinary sensibility" ("New York Times"). …More

A Weed by Any Other Name: The Virtues of a Messy Lawn, or Learning to Love the Plants We Don't Plant By Gift, Nancy 2009-05 - Beacon Press (MA) 9780807085523 Check Our Catalog …More

Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer By Carpenter, Novella 2010-05 - Penguin Books 9780143117285 Check Our Catalog Urban and rural collide in this wry, inspiring memoir of a woman who turned avacant lot in downtown Oakland into a thriving farm. …More

Founding Gardeners: The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation By Wulf, Andrea 2011-03 - Alfred A. Knopf 9780307269904 Check Our Catalog From the author of the acclaimed "The Brother Gardeners" comes a fascinating look at the founding fathers from the unique and intimate perspective of their lives as gardeners, plantsmen, and farmers. …More

Paradise Under Glass: The Education of an Indoor Gardener By Kassinger, Ruth 2011-08 - Harper Paperbacks 9780061547768 Check Our Catalog Ruth Kassinger was at an emotional crossroads. Confronted with the death of a beloved sister, her children's departure for college, and her own recent battle with breast cancer, she was searching for a way forward. Then one cold, gray evening, she wandered into the U.S. Botanic Garden's conservatory--and a dream was born. Dazzled by the vast and dense tangle of greenery, Kassinger decided to create a verdant sanctuary in her own home, even though the sum total of her previous indoor gardening experience was one neglected houseplant at the top of her basement stairs. In Paradise Under Glass, Ruth chronicles her journey from brown thumb to green, while sharing the knowledge and insights that creating and sustaining her fabulous garden has bestowed--lessons of loss and letting go, nurturing and rebirth, challenge and change, love and serenity. …More